STORY: Joint military operations against Al-Shabaab

militants to continue says AU Special Representative

DURATION: 4:26
SOURCE: AMISOM PUBLIC INFORMATION
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CREDIT REQUIRED: AMISOM PUBLIC INFORMATION
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/ SOMALI/ NATURAL SOUND
DATELINE: 11/AUGUST/2019, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA

SHOT LIST:

1. Wide shot, Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union

Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Francisco Madeira, arriving at
the venue for the Eid al-Adha dinner
2. Med shot, SRCC, Ambassador Franscisco Madeira, flanked by the Deputy
Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission
(DSRCC) for Somalia, Simon Mulongo stand at attention as the AU anthem
plays
3. Med shot, SRCC Ambassador Franscisco Madeira, flanked by DSRCC, Simon
Mulongo stand at attention as the anthem plays
4. Wide shot, senior AMISOM officials stand at attention as the anthem plays
5. Med shot, senior AMISOM officials stand at attention as the anthem plays
6. Med shot, senior AMISOM officials stand at attention as the anthem plays
7. Wide shot, SRCC, Ambassador Franscisco Madeira, flanked by DSRCC, Simon
Mulongo and AMISOM senior officials stand at attention as the anthem plays
8. Wide shot, SRCC, invited guests attending Eid al-Adha dinner in Mogadishu
9. Med shot, SRCC, Ambassador Francisco madeira, listening during the Eid al-
Adha dinner in Mogadishu
10. Wide shot, senior AMISOM officials listening at the Eid al-Adha dinner in
Mogadishu
11. Med shot, senior AMISOM officials listening at the Eid al-Adha dinner in
Mogadishu
12. Med shot, invited guests attending Eid al-Adha dinner in Mogadishu
13. Med shot, invited guests attending Eid al-Adha dinner in Mogadishu
14. Med shot, invited guests attending Eid al-Adha dinner in Mogadishu
15. Med shot, Imam reciting a prayer during the dinner
16. Med shot, invited guests attending Eid al-Adha dinner in Mogadishu
17. Med shot, Imam praying during the dinner
18. Wide shot, invited guests attending Eid al-Adha dinner in Mogadishu
19. Wide shot, invited guests attending Eid al-Adha dinner in Mogadishu
20. Med shot, Master of ceremony inviting the SRCC, Ambassador Francisco
Madeira, to give his remarks
 21. Wide shot, SRCC, Ambassador Francisco Madeira walking to the podium to
address the guests
22. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) AMBASSADOR FRANCISCO MADEIRA, SPECIAL
REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE AFRICAN UNION
COMMISSION FOR SOMALIA
“As this moment are celebrating Eid al-Adha, let me congratulate the Force
Commander and the Sector One Commander for the important achievements
that they have made, and for the way you do these (tasks) in full respect of
the rights of the Somali people.''

23. Wide shot, invited guests listening during the dinner

24. Med shot, invited guests listening during the dinner
25. Med shot, Deputy Imam reciting a prayer
26. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) AMBASSADOR FRANCISCO MADEIRA, SPECIAL
REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE AFRICAN UNION
COMMISSION FOR SOMALIA
“The issue of troop generation to be able to hold on to the liberated towns
was very important. Today the partners are investing in helping Somalia to
generate capable, trained and equipped forces. It is these forces that with
our support, with our skills are now giving sense to what we have always
been asking for, that we can liberate these towns and cities provided that
there is somebody to hold on to them. Now we have these battalions, the
Somali battalions, when we go and liberate they hold together with us and
after some time they allow us to advance and this is what we could not do,
we were transformed into a holding force our logistics and supplies were
overstretched. So we found the answer today, the answer is that the Somalis
have said ‘we have understood, we will take this issue of troop generation
more seriously and in earnest and start generating forces to hold the cities
and towns’.”

27. Med shot, invited guests attending the dinner

28. Wide shot, invited guests attending the dinner

Joint military operations against Al-Shabaab militants to continue says AU Special

Representative

Mogadishu, 12 August 2019 - The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and
the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) will continue conducting joint military
operations to liberate regions still under the control of Al-Shabaab, the African Union
Special Representative for Somalia said yesterday.

Speaking at an Eid al-Adha dinner hosted for the Muslim community in the capital,
Mogadishu, Ambassador Francisco Madeira said the resolve by AMISOM and the
federal government to defeat Al-Shabaab and bring back peace and security remains
unshaken.
“As we celebrate Eid al-Adha, let me congratulate the Force Commander and the
Sector One Commander for the important achievements they have made, the recent
one being the liberation of Awdheegle,” Ambassador Madeira stated, adding that the
strong working relations between AMISOM and the Somali security forces had made
the liberation of bridge towns possible.

Awdheegle is the fourth bridge town to be liberated in the Lower Shabelle region, this
year, from Al-Shabaab militants by Somali security forces with the support of AMISOM
troops. Other towns are Sabiid, Bariire and Eel-Saliini.

The AU Special Representative stressed the importance of troop generation in

securing Somalia, saying the country needs trained forces capable of holding liberated
territories. He praised the federal government for making troop generation a priority,
saying Somali National Army (SNA) battalions are the ones holding liberated territories
in these four towns.

Ambassador Madeira added that AMISOM will continue pushing for the strengthening
of the Somali security forces following the recent success of the joint military
operations.

“Today, partners are helping Somalia generate trained and equipped forces. It is these
forces that, with our support, are now holding liberated towns,” he observed.

Conducting joint military operations, protecting population centres and clearing main
supply routes are key activities that AMISOM is undertaking as part of the
implementation of the Somali Transition Plan, which has the main objective of
transferring security responsibility to the Somali security forces.

Present at the function were the AU Deputy Special Representative for Somalia, Simon
Mulongo; AMISOM Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Tigabu Yilma Wondimhunegn;
AMISOM Sector One Commander, Brig. Gen. Michael Kabango and other senior
officials.

ENDS